Kenya

The climatic conditions linked to the drought in the Horn in 2011 have persisted, and some early warning officials say the aid community should brace themselves for a possible re-run of last year's food crisis. (..) However, in their forecast, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says they expect the impact of the La Niña to wane over March to May 2012, which is the major rainfall period for pastoral and agricultural areas of northern Kenya, southern Ethiopia, and most of Somalia, accounting for 50 - 60 percent of annual rainfall.

Last year, around 13 million people in the Horn of Africa needed food aid. Now aid agencies warn failed harvests in the Sahel, the band of desert and scrub that runs south of the Sahara, mean 12 million more people require assistance. (..) The world has more than enough food to feed itself. Redistributing it to those who lack their share is the job of large and well-funded international aid agencies, particularly the World Food Program.

Over 85,000 farmers in West Pokot and Turkana counties (Kenya) are turning to modern crop farming to try and fill the yawning food gap in the largely arid area. (..) According to the manager of Turkana Rehabilitation Programme (TRP), Mr James Kipkan, the change of attitude has enabled most families living along rivers Kerio and Turkwel to turn to cultivation of vegetables, bananas and drought resistant crops like sorghum and millet to create wealth and help alleviate poverty in line with Vision 2030. He said TRP, in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP), targets 100,000 farmers and has the potential to irrigate 75,000 acres of land.

Like other oil-rich, water-poor Gulf states, Qatar has been investing in large areas of farmland overseas to ensure access to food supplies. The agricultural arm of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, Hassad Food, has bought land in Sudan and Australia, and has announced plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on agricultural projects in countries including Kenya, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey and Ukraine.

Rain-induced floods in several parts of Kenya have affected at least 105,000 people and weakened the country's food security situation – already affected by severe drought - a government official said on 15 December.

Cargill Inc. is donating about 10,000 metric tons of rice to alleviate hunger in the Horn of Africa in the largest contribution ever from a company to WFP USA, the U.S. advocate for the United Nations World Food Programme.

The switch by many farmers in Kenya's Rift Valley province from staple cereals to more profitable coffee is likely to increase the country's dependence on grain imports and possibly affect food security, agricultural experts have warned. (..) Kenya will have to import 2.3 million tonnes of cereal during the 2011-2012 marketing year to meet demand, a year-on-year increase of 37 percent, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, which estimated domestic harvests of maize - a staple for 90 percent of Kenyans - at 2.5 million tonnes, down 18 percent because of poor weather.

While most people in the world know about the current famine in Africa, when a problem is hundreds or even thousands of miles away, it's easy to ignore it. But let's face the facts: (..). World Food Program: The World Food Program is planning to feed 7.9 million of the most vulnerable in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia and has identified an additional 2.2 million people in need in difficult-to-access areas of southern Somalia.

The World Food Program is moving to address hunger among the most vulnerable in famine-ravaged Horn of Africa — young children and their mothers, the U.N. food chief said Friday. World Food Program Executive Director Josette Sheeran told The Associated Press that the agency is concentrating especially on children 2 years old and younger, airlifting into the region 244 metric tons of a highly fortified peanut butter-like food paste made from nuts.

With literally millions of people in the Horn of Africa threatened with starvation, the U.S. Agency for International Development is partnering with the Ad Council to launch a national public awareness campaign. The goal is getting Americans to support humanitarian organizations engaged in relief operations, including the American Refugee Committee, (..) and World Food Program USA.